Re: herbs > antibiotics/cows

Never noticed it here in D.C.  But tell us your joke anyway.
Janet


on 12/31/2002 5:01 PM, David Franzman at dfranzma@pacbell.net wrote:

> Here's a stupid question:  Do you folks here the commercials for California's
> Happy Cows?  I was going to make a joke along those lines but it occurred to
> me
> that it might just be a regional thing.
> 
> DF
> 
> Kitty Morrissy wrote:
> 
>> Margaret,
>> It's amazing what they can get away with isn't it?  Carrying the antibiotic
>> problem further is another pet peeve of mine, their use on livestock.  Two
>> of the worst situations of which I'm aware are their use on veal calves and
>> pregnant mares used for premarin manufacture.  These animals have no life
>> at all, kept it narrow stalls.  The calves with no sunshine and fed such a
>> poor diet because it makes the meat tastier.  The mares kept pregnant and
>> pumped full of water so they'll urinate more.  All this is hard on their
>> legs, etc, so they're fed antibiotics.  This must end up in the calve's
>> meat wouldn't you think?  And as to the horses, the French end up eating
>> the meat or maybe your pet.
>> 
>> But the worst offender along this line are dairy farmers.  I've never
>> understood the reasoning.  Go back a few years and dairy farmers in
>> Wisconsin were dumping their milk to push the price higher.  Now they have
>> fewer cows and feed them BGH to make them produce 2 or 3 times the milk
>> they normally would.  The extra weight on thier legs and the pressures of
>> full udders requires them to be fed antibiotics.  And don't you think that
>> goes into the milk?  Ben & Jerry lobbied long and hard against this to no
>> avail.
>> 
>> So now you say they're being sprayed on crops.  I have a tough time
>> grasping how such wanton abuse of antibiotics is justified.
>> 
>> Kitty
>> 
>>> [Original Message]
>>> From: Margaret Lauterbach <melauter@earthlink.net>
>>> To: <gardenchat@hort.net>
>>> Date: 12/31/2002 12:13:34 PM
>>> Subject: Re: [CHAT] herbs
>>> 
>>> This is true, but I'd like to mention another aspect of the
>>> antibiotics.  They're being used as triggers in genetically modified
>> plants
>>> or seeds. Specifically, tetracycline is used in the so-called "Terminator
>>> seeds" that, once planted and grown, won't go to seed unless or until
>> some
>>> trigger (tetracycline) is used.  I don't know whether they spray it out
>> in
>>> the open on a field or how it's applied, but my thought is that some
>> people
>>> are violently allergic to specific medicines, and now they're spraying it
>>> out in the open like that?  I'm sure you know that the largest seed
>>> companies are owned by international pharmaceutical companies.  A farmer
>>> planted some corn that was genetically modified to produce a strong
>>> medicine to curb swine diarrhea. The corn was harvested, but some stalks
>>> remained that he was supposed to burn.  He didn't.  Then he planted the
>>> field with soybeans, and a few of the soybeans may have or were thought
>> to
>>> have touched those remaining corn stalks, so the U.S. destroyed something
>>> like 500,000 bushels of soybeans to make sure that medicine didn't get
>> into
>>> human food.  If it's so powerful that touching the plant would
>> contaminate
>>> it, it should be grown in a contained warehouse or greenhouse.  Margaret L
>>> 
>>>> Bonnie mentioned the lack of regulation of herbal remedies and other
>>>> homeopathic solutions.  And Auralie went on to discuss the cost of
>>>> pharmeceuticals.  These things triggered some reservations I have about
>> what
>>>> the drug companies tell us.  They caution us against herbs, but have you
>>>> listened to the commercials for the new medications?  Talk about side
>> effects!
>>>> Have you looked at a Physicians Desk Refernece?  I used tetracyclin
>> many
>>>> years ago without a problem, but when it was prescribed for my husband,
>> he
>>>> experienced every side effect in the PDR book!
>>>> 
>>>> Yes, you do have to be cautious with herbs, but you also need to be
>> careful
>>>> with pharmeceuticals.
>>>> 
>>>> Kitty
>>> 
>>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> T

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